The Joint Commission (TJC) this week announced revisions to its suicide prevention National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) to improve quality and safety of care for patients treated for behavioral health conditions and who are identified as high-risk for suicide.

Effective July 1, 2019, NPSG.15.01.01 (Reduce the risk for suicide) is applicable to all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and behavioral healthcare organizations. The revised requirements are based on more than a year of research, public field review, and analysis with multiple panels convened by TJC and representing provider organizations, suicide prevention experts, behavioral facility design experts, and other key stakeholders.

The requirements are detailed in a new R3 Report published by TJC. The NPSG encompasses seven elements of performance (EP) that TJC will use to review hospitals and behavioral healthcare organizations during accreditation surveys. This is an increase over the three EPs in the current version of NPSG.15.01.01 (Identify individuals at risk for suicide).

“The science of suicide prevention has really advanced over the past few years, including better tools for screening, assessment of suicidal ideation, identification of environmental hazards in health care facilities, and methods to prevent suicide after discharge,” said David W. Baker, MD, MPH, FACP, executive vice president, TJC’s Division of Health Care Quality Evaluation, in a release. “We had not updated the NPSG since its original release in 2007. This revised version and the accompanying resource compendium will more robustly support health care organizations in preventing suicide among patients in their care.”

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